SOVIET MISMANAGEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21100, 6 February 1932, Page 12

SOVIET MISMANAGEMENT.

| BEET SUGAR COLLAPSE. HUGE LOSSES INCURRED. For (he first time since the advent of the Soviet Government, a sensational discovery of "mismanagement" lias been given in detail to the world, says Russian Economic News. Hitherto the Soviet press has been emphasising the political delinquencies of (lie "criminals." In the case of the "Sugar Department." the following interesting revelations were mado by' Odintzoff, tho new chief of the department. He said: —"How could you expect a good crop of beet when nobody troubled to sec that sowing was done in time? The same happened in the summer. When harvest time came, 110- | body was interested to see that all the beet was cropped, with tho result that 10 per cent, remained in the ground. In the fields another 10 per cent, vanished; tho diggers, who* were entitled to 50 per cent, of the leaves, managed to take roots as well. It is estimated that at least 4.600,000cwt. vanished in this way. "Then came the carters. Those people considered it their duty, before starting work, to give a few beets to their horses. The most crinje estimates show that some 6.500.000cwt. went, to feed the horses. Adding together the beet remaining in the ground, the beet, taken away from the field, the beet eaten up by tlie horses anil other side uses, we get the colossal figure of 30,000,000cwt. "As regards grain, it should lie noted that no accounts were kept, and that I gave every chance fur wholesale thefts. | When a commission came to inspect stock. ; it was found that one warehouse had | lOOOrwt., another 500cwt., and so ion of 'vagrant' grain, But what is of even greater importance is the fact that ! grain was bartered for nails, copper and ! such like commodities, and these were | then distributed among the employees. | "The position was no bettor in the | sugar factories. Although the sugar in- • duslry had at Jciist six months for neces- ; sarv repairs, flic e were never done in | j time. In estimat ; i:g sugar yield, percen- | tages only were used, with tho result ; that the Administration had a dump of j its own and the sugar was sold privately, j Although the to'.al estimate of production I was insignificant, the output by Decem- | her 1 amounted to only one-third of this total."-